Every now and then, there are a few questions that we need to ask ourselves to make sure we’re on track with God’s plan for our lives. He very definitely has a plan that includes every believer, and He lays it out before each of us. He’s a Masterful Creator and has marked out a path for our steps. The wisdom of Psalm 16:11 (NLT) tells us, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” God will give us direction in life and show us the way that leads to fulfillment and purpose, but sometimes we get a little impatient and want to do things our own way. We start making decisions and choices that seem like the right ones, but won’t lead us in the direction that God desires us to take.
God wants us to be fulfilled and joyful. Through Jesus Christ, He’s made it possible for us to have a rich and satisfying life. It’s important that we know God wants the best for us, because this knowledge helps us to develop confidence as we pursue a good life. It is also important that we understand that God desires our spiritual growth and development. He wants us to grow in Christ, and this is His greatest goal for every believer. He values it more than any other goal we may have. He tells us in Ephesians 4:15 (ESV) “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” So, we have to consider the possibility that even though the decisions and choices we make don’t appear to be poor ones, they may not be ideal for our spiritual growth. Ultimately, they could cause harm to our relationship with Heavenly Father.
In John 16:13, Jesus Christ tells us that he guides us into all truth through the Holy Spirit who lives inside us. He, the Holy Spirit, guides us on the path that God has ordained we should take. Every decision, choice, and action we execute can potentially be on point, if we will humble ourselves before God and allow Him to direct our paths. He tells us this in the wisdom of Proverbs 3:5-6(NLT) which instructs, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
On the path that God has marked out for us, everything isn’t always going to make sense according to our way of thinking. For instance, I consider myself a car aficionado; they are my passion. When I passed my driver’s exam and got my license, my excitement was through the roof. Naturally, when I got my first professional job, I made a beeline for the dealership to test drive some cars. The aesthetics of a new vehicle are nice, but ‘new’ doesn’t always impress me, and the cars I test drove just didn’t feel right. I get excited about engines and performance, and I wanted a fast car. So, after test driving a few vehicles, I narrowed down my choices to the make and model I wanted. Finally, I found the car that felt perfect for me. Even though it ended up being over my budget, I went for it. Well, things didn’t work out, and I found myself settling for a bucket that was nowhere near what I wanted.
My bubble was burst big time, and I was really disappointed. We all have our favorite things—things we are passionate about, and spend a lot of time praying to receive. I had worked hard in school and college, and in my mind, was a good Christian, so I couldn’t understand why God didn’t make the details work out so that I could have the car I wanted. I felt I deserved it.
Eventually, the bucket grew on me, but the car I really wanted was never far from my mind. It dawned on me one day that I didn’t like the idea of being patient, and was a little resentful about it. This is how we are. We want what we want when we want it. Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work together for our good, but this was hard for me to see when it was 94 degrees outside, and I was driving a car with unreliable air conditioning. My parents had always warned me that I needed to wait to get the car of my dreams; they told me I needed more driving experience. At the time, I didn’t find this to be comforting advice, but when my bucket kissed a guardrail one snowy afternoon, I got the picture.
We all want to be happy and blessed. We want the best for ourselves, and every morning we are afforded the opportunity to go after our goals and desires, but as my mother always says, we have to do a checkup from the neck up. This means that we focus our minds on God, and check-in with Him before we take one step further. He has empowered us to achieve great things, but we have to remember that He always knows best. He knows our past, present, and futures. He knows the mistakes and missteps that lay ahead, and He’ll help us steer clear of them. If we’ll seek His guidance, He’ll direct our paths so that we’re getting the most out of life, achieving our goals, and growing in Christ according to Heavenly Father’s Will and Plan for our lives.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Your Goals and God’s Direction”, written by JMack. 4theChristianMan.Com© 2018. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.